System of electric locomotion



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK IVHEELER, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRIC LOCOMOTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,616, dated April 16, 1889. Application filed January 14, 1889. Serial No. 296,301. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FRANK WHEELER, of Meriden, in the county 4of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trolleys and Trolley- Tracks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In systems of electric locomotion in which the current is supplied to the traveling motor by lines of overhead conductors arranged along the car-track there is ordinarily provided a truck of contact-rollers, called a trolley, mounted on the line-conductors, and a flexible connection from the trolleyis carried down to the car,where it is properly connected with the propelling electric motor geared to the car-wheels. As the car travels upon the rails the contact-rollers are dragged along over the line-conductors, and when two such conductors on the same horizontal plane are employed it is usual to apply a trolley the contact-rollers of which are supported upon a frame which moves between said conductors. Owing to the frequent sagging of one of the conductors and other causes of spreading the two apart, the trolley often becomes detached and falls to the ground or on the roof of the car, resulting in damage to the car, danger to animal life, and inconvenience and delay generally.

It is the object of my invention to overcome these difficulties and objections, and I achieve this object by constructing a trolley which, when applied to line-conductors suitably supported, cannot,without intention, be removed therefrom. To attain this object, I employ in connection with two line conductors or wires, supported at intervals by brackets the arms of which extend from the center outward, a trolley the wheels or rollers of which are supported from the outside of said conductors. y

My invent-ion consists in the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the trolley and bracket, a portion of one of the braces of the trolley being' in section. Fig. 2 is a section on line on a: of

Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line y y of Fig. 55

'1. Fig. 4 is a front elevation, partly in sec- "tion, of a modified form of bracket; and Fig.

5 is a section on line .e e of Fig. 4.

The side plates, A, of the trolley-frame are rigidly secured together by braces B, and at 6o their upper ends have inwardly-projecting axles c, upon which the contact-rollers C freely turn and run on the conducting-wires C. The circuitwires for conducting the current to the electromotor of the car are suitably connected to the aXlescor to portions of the side plates, A.

The braces B consist of blocks of wood or other suitable insulating material, B, having' each end screw-threaded to enter the screw- 7o E, upon which the traveler-ring e slides. This ring forms the connection between the trolley and the draftfcord, which, as heretofore, is

To the ends of the guide 8o preferably provided with a yielding connection (not shown) with the car. The obj ect of this construction of traveler is to prevent the draft of the car upon the trolley from tilting the latter too much and to cause the trolleywheels to run steady on the wires.

The trolley may be provided with more than one pair of contact-rollers C; or I may extend a pair of arms, A', either to the front or rear. of the trolley and place friction-rollers (not against the sides of the wires C.

The brackets F, which are usually supported at intervals throughout the length of the route by means of wires from posts or other supports on both sides of the track, but Ioo which may be otherwise supported, consist of two pieces, F and F2, of metal connected by bolts G, passing through the vertical parts of said pieces and through the insulating mateshown) at the outer portions thereof to ride rial H, I-I, and H2. The bolt-holes in the metallic portions of the bracket are considerably larger than the bolts G, and to prevent the two pieces F F2 from being moved so as to short-circuit them through the bolts the adjacent faces of said pieces are rabbeted to receive the central piece of insulating material, H.

The lower arms, f f2, respectively, of the bracket-pieces F F2 extend, as shown, outwardly from the center of the completed bracket and support at their outer ends the conducting-wires C.

The trolley may be readily applied to operative position by drawing the two conducting-wires together' intermediate of two brackets, F, sufficiently to allow them to pass between the contact-rollers C. When said rollers are above the wires, the latter are released and assume the position shown in Fig. l. From this position the trolley cannot be accidentally dislodged, for the reason that any sagging of one wire only increases the distance between the two wires, and the trolley on reaching such sagging portion will draw or guide the wires together to the distance lprescribed by the space between the outer flanges of the rollers or the sides of the frame, and the trolley cannot jump sufficiently to be dislodged, owing to the presence and shape of the upper brace, B, which, with the lower surfaces of the contact-rollers, form C-shaped spaces, which nearly inclose the wires C. The traveler-connection above described is applicable to trolleys of other constructions, as well as to the form shown herein. y

In the form of bracket shown in Figs. i and 5 the vertical parts of the pieces F F2 are in a plane at right angles to the arms, instead of in the same plane and overlapping, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and portions of the bracketl and insulating material extend above the upper arms sufficiently to receive a bolt, G. This form of bracket I believe to be the most substantial and preferable.

I may omit the insulating material between the vertical portions of the bracket or hanger and firmly connect and support said portions by means of a horizontal bar vof wood or other suitable material above and secured to the horizontal portions of the hanger. In lieu of the guide D, I may place a friction-roller at the center of the upper brace, and in place of the curved bar E, I may connect a properlyinsulated bail-like swinging yoke, to which the cord e may be attached.

I am aware that a trolley-track having a continuous vertical web and a continuous horizontal iiange on each side at the bottom of said web to form tracks for the wheels of a trolley, said trolley having its wheels on inwardly-projecting axles, is not new; but by such construction the trolley cannot be removed from the track except by providing removable portions of the track or by opening the arms of the trolley. By my construction the trolley vcan b e removed from the wires by simply contracting the wires toward each other at any point between the hangers sufficiently to allow the said wires to pass between the inner ends of the rollers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with two electric conducting-wires, of a trolley having its contactrollers supported from the outside of said -wires, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with two electric conducting-wires, of supports therefor, the arms of said supports extending from the center outward, and a trolley having its contactrollers supported from the outside of said wires, substantially as described. v

3. A trolley having a frame carrying inwardly-projecting axles for the contact-rollers and two braces connecting the sides of the frame'and consisting of insulating-blocks with metallic end thimbles, substantially as described.

4. In combination with two electric conducting-wires and the supporting-brackets therefor, a trolley having an arch-shaped guide for guiding the said trolley when passing a conductor-bracket,` substantially as described. y

5. In combination with a two-wheeled trolley and a draft-cord for connecting it with a car, an intermediate connection between the cord and the trolley-frame extending to the front or rear of the said frame for steadying vthe trolley while being drawn in either direc- IOO IIO 

